Fishing

Spain was Western Europe's leading fishing nation, and it had the
world's fourth largest fishing fleet. Spaniards ate more fish per capita
than any other European people, except the Scandinavians. In the
mid-1980s, Spain's fishing catch averaged about 1.3 million tons a year,
and the fishing industry accounted for about 1 percent of GDP. Sardines,
mussels, cephalopods, cod, mackerel, and tuna, most of which came from
the Atlantic Ocean, were the principal components of the catch.Fishing
was particularly important in the economic life of Galicia, the
principal fishing ports of which were Vigo and La Coruna on the
northwest coast. Also important were Huelva, Cadiz, and Algeciras in the
south, and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Santa Cruz de Tenerife in the
Canary Islands.

In the mid-1980s, the fishing fleet numbered between 13,800 and
17,500 vessels, most of which were old and small. Deep-sea vessels
numbered about 2,000. Spain's 100,000 fishermen made up one-third of all
EC manpower in the fishing sector, and a further 700,000 Spanish jobs
depended on fishing. Prior to its admission into the EC, the
undisciplined behavior of Spanish fishermen was a constant problem for
the government and for other European countries. Spanish vessels were
frequently charged with fishing violations in the Atlantic and the North
Sea. Entry into the EC brought access to most of its waters, but it also
meant catches would be sharply restricted until 1995.